Positioning device for railway-car couplers



flan. 10, 1928.

V. E. SISSON POSITIONING DEVICEfiOR RAILWAY CAR COUPLERS Filed April 19. 1926 nlLuwll fivenfor .dTAt'lTES PATENT OFFICE.

.lAtirD, llLLlltlUll .llpplieation filed. April 19 i'or autoot a rail- This device relates to means inaticelly positioning the coupler way car by gravity.

lte'lbreiue is bad to the accompanying drawin which illustrate the ne'lierrcd 'lorm o the inven :ion, though it is to be no rlorstood that the invention is not limited to the exact details o't UODl-llil'llUtlUll shown and described, as it is obvious that various till "Ill ll .n'iodilications thereof within the scope ot the clainiis will occur to persons skilled in the art.

llwo railway cars are automatically coupled together by the moven'ieut ol their re spective couplers :l'oreing the tails of the pivoted. lniucltles behind gravity locks. lhe couplers are mounted in the cars so as to permit a limited. amount of lateral movement. {dutch lin'iitation is neces =ry and. essential because it the couplers were allowed to move too l ar to either side, the coiu lers oil? the two cars being); coupled. would pass eachother and not couple, thereby defeating); the object oi the automatic coupler. The greater the lateral movement out a coupler the less side pressure on the striking casting when the cars are going around curves. This lateral pro ire forces the wheel flanges against the rail. causing); considerable triction and wea ..';n,e; oi? the rails and wheels.

"One of the objects oi the invention is to increase the an'iount ol. permissible lateral movement oi? a coupler by providing automatic means for returning the couplers to the lrmgitrulinal center of the car or at least close enough thereto so that the auton'iatic couplers will couple. This what is ternnal the coupling; raugge l l l. is very oltcu necessary to couple cars on curves and ilirequently when the radius oi" the curve is very small, as is common around industrial plants, the couplers ol' the two cars will he so l ar out of alignment that they will not auton'iati ally couple. Another object ot' the invention is to auloinatiiailly bring"; such couplers within coupling;- rang'e. 'lhc outside rail ol a curved tract: is raised above the inside rail and provide n'leans wl'ierel'iy the coupler is moved toward the inside of the curve by gravity. llhis automatic gravity means also returns the coupler to the lore tritudinal center 0: the car when the car 195-36. Serial No. 102,978.

moves from the curved to the straight part of the track.

In my device the lateral movement between the coupler and the carrier is eliminated, thus reducing; friction and consequent wear on the parts. This is quite an item particulaizly in sandy countries because couplers are costly and the i.'e )lacement oilf a coupler means keeping; the car out of service.

Coupler positioning devices reduces the number oil? broken lcnickles and guard arms on couplers which members are frequently bent or broken when the couplers are not within coupling; range. Such devices also reduce the number of accidents to t'ainmen as they are not required to go between the cars and position the coupler preparatory to ema ling.

it has been found advantageous to have the coupler support cast integral with the striking casting to obtain a tour sided nien1- her which reinforces the end sill, dralt sill. and associated parts and my device especially ada it-able to such a con'ibiued cast mg.

A. great majority otlf the movement ot a railway ear is upon a straight traclc or a curved traelc having a. large radius and at least halt oi? the :lrictionv between a coupler and whatever raip 'iorts it is caused. by its fore and aft movement in service therefore, a coupler causes more triction (and consequent wear) between it and its support when it is in its central normal position than when in any other position.

An object oil the invention is to decrease the lrietion and consequent wear between the coupler and the positioning device by supporting the coupler solely upon menus in-- dependent ol' the positioning device when the coupler is in. central nornnd position and lo so arrange the positioning device that when the coupler moves laterally its weight is entirely shi'l'led iron, the said means to the positinnitus device and conversl-ily when the coupler moves hurt. to its normal central position its weight is slii'tled back to said means.

t-luch an arrangement makes it possible to provide any desired. bearing area between the coupler and its (ultimate) support: when the coupler is in its normal position which.

is not possible. or at least practical, in a swing motion device,- such as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 8 having a journaled support or in a roller type of device, such as shown in Figsj t. 5 and 6 having a line hearing.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a typical application of the device to a railway air with the coupler in normal position.

Fig. 2 is the same as Fig. 1 with the coupler moved to extreme lateral position.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

The striking casting or butter block 2 .is attached to the draft sill 3 or other part of the car: body in any suitable manner and the coupler support 4 is attached thereto or preterably east integral therewith. The coupler 5 rests upon the carriage (5 which engages the support 4 in such a manner as to restrict its movement longitudinally of the car but permits its movement sidewise oi the car.

' This is preferably accomplished by providing a U-shaped support having spaced apart walls 78 between which the carriage moves sidewise ot the car but is restricted in its movement longitudinally of the car. The carriage is also provided withmeans 10 to restrictt-he lateral movement of the coupler relative thereto.

The carriage 6 is suspended from a part of a car body by swingable links 20. This carriageis positioned so that when the coupler is in normal central position it rests upon the support 4, as shown in Fig. 1. \Vhen the coupler moves laterallythe carrier rises and the weight of the coupler is shifted from the support t to the carriage (i, asshown inFig. 2.

I claim:

1. In a railway car; the combination of a coupler support, a laterally movable coupler resting upon the support when in normal position, a 'arriagc swingablv supported by links to a part. of said car so as to swing loosely under the coupler when the coupler is in normal position, said carriage and links arranged to lift the coupler upon lateral movement thereol and to cause the coupler to return to normal position by gravitation.

2. In a railway car; the combination ol a coupler stu'iport'. a laterally movable coupler resting upon the support when n normal position. a carriage swingably supported b links to a part oil" said car so as to swing loosely under the coupler when the coupler is in normal positioin said carriage and links arranged to lift the coupler upon a predetermned amount ot lateral movement thcrc ot and to cause the coupler to return to normal position by gravitation.

3.111 a railway car; a coupler resting solely upon a rigid support when in normal central position and resting solely upon a swingable centering device when movcd to either s de (it said central position.

4. 111 a railway ar. the combination of a coupler support. a coupler carriage swingably supported by links to a part of the car. the coupler bearing surtace oi the carriage being normally below the coupler bearing surface of the coupler support; said part so arrang at that upon a predctcrniincd amount of swinging movement of the carriage the coupler bear ng surface oi the carriage is elevated above the coupler bearing surl'acc ot the support.

VINTON E. SISSUN. 

